Female Pro stock driver sets record at Gatornationals

Racing Coverage

GAINESVILLE — Before Friday, the biggest thing Erica Enders-Stevens did at the Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals was knock NASCAR driver Kurt Busch out of Pro Stocks during their 2011 first-round race.

She came back to Auto Plus Raceway in Gainesville on Friday and made a bigger name for herself by running the fastest speed in the sport’s history.

A 214.69-mph pass in her first-round race with Jeg Coughlin Jr. was a track record for 1,000 feet. When she ran 213.94 in the second round, it was enough to back up her first-round speed and turn the run into a national record.

The NHRA Mello Yello Series requires drivers to post two speeds within 1 percent of each other to qualify as a record. Enders-Stevens did that to break Jason Line’s record of 214.35 mph, set on Oct. 8, 2012.

Coughlin was clocked at 214.01 mph at the finish line against Enders-Stevens, the fastest side-by-side race in Pro Stock history.

While her speed set a record, the thing that matters is elapsed time. She will go into Saturday’s third- and fourth-round qualifying sessions ranked second behind Dave Connolly, who was quicker off the starting line and 7 /1,000ths of a second faster overall.

In 2011, Enders-Stevens beat Busch in one of the most anticipated Pro Stock races in drag-racing history. Busch, who will attempt to drive in May’s Indianapolis 500, hasn’t returned to drag racing since.

Friday’s sessions locked the speeds in for the top 12 drivers in all four of the NHRA’s top classes — Top Fuel, Funny Cars, Pro Stocks and Pro Stock Motorcycles. Everyone will return to Gainesville Saturday for two more rounds, but only the top 12 will have locked-in speeds. The rest will return with no speed of record with only two chances left to make the cut for the round of 16 eliminations on Sunday.

Those who need to make a fast pass Saturday include Hector Arana, the 2009 Pro Stock Motorcycle champion; Funny Car regulars Jeff Arend and Courtney Force; and Top Fuel’s Spencer Massy and Terry McMillen currently are on the outside looking in.

Those at the top of the speed charts now have the luxury of taking bigger swings to find more speed.

“We have a speed to fall back on,” said No. 1 Funny Car qualifier Bob Tasca III. “We can go out there and try things.”

The nitro classes had a difficult time finding traction at Gainesville, especially near the finish line. Tasca said there was a big bump that really upset the car. Nearly half the qualifying efforts in Top Fuel and Funny Cars ended with cars spinning the tires at the end of the track.

“It was real tricky out there,” Tasca said after a 4.103-second pass at 304.39 mph. “The bumps at the end car really get the car out of shape. Twelve inches either way can make a real difference. You really had to keep the car straight in the middle. If the car’s not happy going over those bumps, you’ve really got your hands full.”

Jack Beckman was second in Funny Cars with two rounds to go. Chad Head was third, and Ron Capps was fourth.

Connolly, Enders-Stevens and Coughlin were the top three qualifiers in Pro Stock. Matt Smith, Andrew Hines and John Hall led Pro Stock Motorcycles.

Defending series champion Shawn Langdon was fastest in Top Fuel qualifying at 3.786 seconds. Richie Crampton was second, and Doug Kalitta was third.